Metabolic disorders
Readouts from Novo Nordisk and Viking Therapeutics at AASLD 2024 strengthen the argument for GLP-1 therapies as an emerging backbone of MASH treatment, with the potential to combine it with other drug classes to achieve deeper responses, according to BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman.
Lilly’s muvalaplin is the first oral drug to show positive Phase II findings for Lp(a) reduction, eliciting up to an 86% drop in the biomarker after 12 weeks.
Wegovy is being made available to Chinese patients five months after its approval in the country. Novo will sell the medicine for about $193.27 for a one-month supply.
Boston Pharma’s once-monthly injection efimosfermin alfa offers a convenient dosing option for MASH patients while also achieving promising rates of fibrosis and MASH improvement, according to a Phase II readout.
Despite crowding in the next-gen weight loss space, Metsera has raised over $500 million since its April launch, indicating a continued appetite for these drugs.
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Olivia Brayer found supplementary bone mineral density data for Amgen’s obesity candidate MariTide that could point to a potentially greater fracture risk than previously revealed, but some other analysts view the findings as a nonissue.
With Novo Holdings’ $16.5 billion buyout of Catalent being reviewed by regulators, what work the contract drug manufacturer may or may not be performing for Eli Lilly remains a point of contention.
Novo said supply of Wegovy and Ozempic is in good shape after the drugs were removed from the FDA’s shortage list last week. But Eli Lilly reported slower than expected sales in the third quarter due to wholesaler destocking.
Novo Nordisk’s total revenue in the third quarter missed analysts’ expectations but sales of weight loss drug Wegovy exceeded the consensus forecast. Still, the Danish drugmaker narrowed its full-year guidance for revenue and operating profit.
In our anniversary episode, we discuss a rare earnings miss for Eli Lilly, a pivotal metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis victory for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, growing excitement about CAR Ts for autoimmune disease and the ongoing controversy over HeLa cells.
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